A Great Big Guide to Minis, Grids and Combat (WARNING: REALLY FREAKINā LONG!)
Finding the right Miniature for what you want can be a monumental task, and because thereās so many types of Mini out there, Iām breaking this section down in the hopes that itāll helpā¦
Iām just gonna say it right now, Metal Minis are hard to find. Wizards of the Coast donāt do them any more: Theyāre chunky and heavy, but also extremely durable.
If youāre looking for Metal Minis in your area, you can find a lot of Metal Minis at old Wargaming Stores and Hobby Shops, and often at a pretty great price because theyāre so old and badly painted because theyāre from the 80ās.
I know people that have bought Solid Lead Minis from Wargames from the 60ās and they look pretty great even today (I mean the paint is a little faded and chipped, but stillā¦), which is a testament to just how durable these things areā¦
Metal Minis are great if you want Minis that are durable and will last for your whole campaign and beyond, and you can easily order and buy Metal Minis online from companies like Reaper Miniatures and their āMetal Fantasyā Collection, and with Services like HeroForge Minis, you can even make your own Metal Minis, albeit a little bit more expensive than your average Mini.
Plastic Minis are pretty much the standard for Minis. You can find both painted and unpainted Plastic Minis in almost every D&D Store and you can often buy them in bulk online or buy individual minis in store for great prices.
Wizards of the Coast (The People that make D&D) have their own lines of both Painted and Unpainted Plastic Miniatures available online, and you can often find individual Plastic Miniatures available in your Local D&D Store, online through things like Amazon, eBay or Miniature Market, or just buy them in bulk through places like the Wizards of the Coast Products Page.
And while these Plastic Miniatures are cheaper than the Metal Minis, they sacrifice durability for cost, and these Minis can often break at the worst of timesā¦
But, as the standard for most D&D games, and available almost anywhere, Plastic Miniatures are your best bet for finding 3D Minis to use in your Game.
Paper Minis are two-sided Minis that go on little stands, and the art for them is absolutely beautifulā¦
Most of these are extremely cheap, and some even give you the chance to use your own Printer to create dozens of amazing looking D&D Minis.
Most Paper Minis come as Downloadable Content that lets you print everything at home, while some come on Cardstock that you can pop out and place in their stands.
Paper Minis are absolutely perfect for play, and even when bulk-buying the Paper Minis printed on Cardstock, you can get literally hundreds of Paper Minis for almost no significant cost.
And while yeah, theyāre not exactly ādurableā, theyāre great for saving money, and theyāre still beautiful to look at.
Pre-Painted Minis are almost as standard as Plastic Minis, and they often go hand-in-hand.
Wizards of the Coast Minis almost always have some variety of Pre-Painted Plastic Miniatures, while their Nolzurās Marvellous Miniatures Line of Unpainted Plastic Miniatures are there for those that want to paint their own.
There are well over 2,000+ Individual Pre-Painted Plastic Miniatures out there that are available to purchase from pretty much anywhere, and while Pre-Painted Metal Minis are rare, and the paint jobs are often kinda old, they are availableā¦
But I will give a fair warning that Pre-Painted Plastic Miniatures can come with faults: Some break in transit, some have bent swords and spears, some are painted so strangely that characters and monsters can have crazy eyes and look a little too silly on close inspectionā¦
But Pre-Painted Plastic Minis are still great to use, pretty cheap to buy, and itās only in rare cases that youāll be unsatisfied with what you getā¦
Painting Your Own Minisā¦
Like Iāve said, the Nolzurās Marvellous Miniatures Line of Unpainted Plastic Miniatures are there for the Dungeon Masters that want to paint their own minis.
This line of Minis is Plastic, and come already covered in a Grey Primer and are pretty much ready to paint right out of the box.
However, while the Unpainted Plastic Minis cost just a tad less than the Pre-Painted Plastic Minis, getting into painting Minis can be an expensive hobby, as you often end up buying dozens of different paints, brushes, and more just to paint a single mini.
But donāt be dissuaded from doing it, you can find Paints for Minis on the Wizards of the Coast Products Page and Online where availableā¦
Commissions: There are People out there that you can Commission to paint your Minis for you, and most services are pretty cheap, so ask your Local D&D Store if they can paint your Minis for you, or if they hold classes in painting Minisā¦
Learning to Paint: Painting Minis takes time and patience, but can be very rewarding in the end, and starting out can be just as easy as looking up a tutorial video or signing up for mini painting classes at your Local D&D Store.
And while your first few self-painted Minis might not look great, overtime youāll become a great painter, and can save a bit of cash over time by buying Unpainted Plastic Minis and painting then yourself, so double win!
Where To Find Good Minisā¦
There are a LOT of places to find Miniatures, from Metal to Plastic to Paper to Painted to Unpainted, so Iāll break it down for you.
Metal Minis: Metal Minis are hard to come by, but can be found online being sold as Individual Minis.
Most old Metal Minis come Pre-Painted but might need a new lick of paint, while some are entirely unpainted.
You can find most Metal Minis at your Local D&D Store, as well as online at the usual places of eBay and Amazon.
If youāre looking for Custom Metal Minis, Iād suggest taking a look at HeroForge Minis, and while they might be a little expensive to some people, I think having a custom mini thatās pretty darn durable is worth the price.
Plastic Minis: You can find Pre-Painted Plastic Miniatures in almost every D&D Store and pretty much anywhere online. You can buy in bulk and get full sets of minis, or buy them individually (and normally for a cheaper price) at your Local D&D Store.
Iād recommend places like Miniature Market and Amazon when looking for Pre-Painted Plastic Miniatures, and for Unpainted Plastic Minis, not only can you find those Online and in your friendly neighbourhood D&D Store, but there are plenty of great companies out there that produce some absolutely stunning custom minis for you to paint.
Painted & Unpainted Minis: You can find the Nolzurās Marvellous Miniatures Line of Unpainted Plastic Miniatures both online and in-store, as well as the Icons of the Realms Line of Pre-Painted Plastic Miniatures for those people that want them.
There are also companies out there that do Custom Unpainted Plastic Minis, like Reaper Miniatures or Gale Force 9, and Iāll be sure to leave a Comment with as many Links as I can findā¦
Paper Miniatures: My personal favourite place for Paper Minis is Printable Heroes. They have a whole selection of Free Downloadable Content that you can print off at home.
But, if youāre looking for Paper Minis that arenāt just D&D, Paizo makes a line of Cardboard Cutout Miniatures called Pathfinder Pawns.
Cheap Alternatives to Minisā¦
If you unfortunately canāt afford to spend money on Minis, there are plenty of really fun and really cheap alternatives to Minis.
Tokens from other Tabletop and Board Games, Lego Pieces, even a bunch of colourful M&Ms can still be used to show where your heroes and monsters standā¦
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